US firm involved in defunct Gaza aid scheme recruits new officers, website shows

By Pesha Magid

JERUSALEM, Feb 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. security firm that deployed armed military veterans to Gaza to guard aid sites run by a now-defunct distribution operation is seeking to hire Arabic-speaking contractors with combat experience, according to job listings on its website.

North Carolina-based UG Solutions, which provided security for the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its new job listings or say whether it was planning new Gaza operations or security operations elsewhere in the region.

The GHF, which was shut down following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October, had faced criticism from the United Nations and other international bodies over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach its aid sites.

It had bypassed the U.N. and the established aid agencies operating in Gaza to distribute food at sites mostly located away from much of the population and near Israeli forces. UG Solutions provided the GHF with security contractors to guard aid transport and distribution.

The GHF did not respond to a request for comment sent to its press email. It consistently defended its approach to security during the months it operated in Gaza.

Palestinians could regard any return of UG Solutions to the enclave as troubling because of the violence that took place during GHF distributions last year.

“The GHF and those who stand behind it have Palestinian blood on their hands; they are not welcome to return to Gaza,” said Amjad al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, which liases with U.N. and international humanitarian agencies.

‘GO-TO SECURITY FIRM’

When the GHF shut down, UG Solutions said it remained “the go-to security firm to help those focused on rebuilding and delivering aid” as envisaged in U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.

One of the jobs on the firm’s website, an International Humanitarian Security Officer, would involve “securing key infrastructure, facilitating humanitarian efforts, and ensuring stability in a dynamic environment”. Preferred credentials include proficiency with “small arms weapons”.

Another, targeting only female candidates, is for a Cultural Support Officer who would ensure “safe, effective, and culturally appropriate aid distribution”.

Both listings say UG Solutions is seeking to hire multiple officers, without delineating how many. They both list Arabic proficiency as a preferred qualification. The security officer role lists four or more years of active duty deployment as a preferred credential.

The job listings did not specify a place of work for the roles, and Gaza is not mentioned. Apart from Gaza, UG Solutions has not been publicly linked with operations in other Arabic-speaking locations.

TRUMP PLAN

Trump’s plan for Gaza calls for a surge in humanitarian aid, for Israel to withdraw after Hamas lays down its arms, and for the territory to be rebuilt under the supervision of a “Board of Peace” led by the U.S. President.

The Board is holding a meeting in Washington next week that is expected to serve in part as a fundraiser. Those funds would help pay for a plan envisaged by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that would see Gaza rebuilt in stages, beginning in Rafah in a southern area under Israeli military control.

Rafah is where the GHF stood up three of its four aid locations, the routes to which drew Palestinians desperate for food. Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to seek aid at GHF sites, according to Gaza health officials and the United Nations, which called the operations inherently dangerous and a violation of humanitarian principles that require aid distribution to be conducted safely.

The Israeli military has acknowledged that some Palestinians were hurt without saying how many. It says its soldiers fired to control crowds and quell immediate threats, and it changed procedures following the incidents.

UG Solutions is hiring for at least 15 roles within its defence division, including the International Humanitarian Security Officer and the Cultural Support Officer. Those roles’ work locations are marked as ‘Worldwide’. The other 13 roles are marked as “remote” within the U.S., with travel required.

(Reporting by Pesha Magid in Jerusalem with additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in GazaEditing by Rami Ayyub)